3.3.3 My Plastic Use

 When we imagine the ocean filled with pollution, most of our minds picture large plastic bottles, or floaties that have floated away, or maybe even bags. But what about all of the pollution that we cannot see with the naked eye? Abby Barrows, a marine research scientist from MI, collected water samples locally, about a half a liter , and took those samples to a lab. When she placed the water samples under a microscope she was in disbelief of all of the colored plastic particles she could see in the water. From the water sample she took from a nearby lake, she began to wonder what could be happening in the ocean, or even our drinking water?

She began to wonder, where are these specs not? So Abby Barrows partnered with adventure scientists to conduct a research to see just how contaminated water is. Adventure science is a nonprofit organization that gathers scientists and researchers together across the world to study natural resources. Upon their examinations, almost every single water sample that they collected had what we know as microplastic. But, what is microplastic? Microplastic  are pieces of plastic that we can not physically see without magnifying it. The way that the plastic is able to become so small is  because over time from the sun beaming down, to being beaten down by the rolling waves, the plastic will break into smaller and smaller pieces and start to disintegrate until it is microscopic.The adventure science research team collected samples from the antarctic ocean, all the way to the pacific, and everywhere in between. After taking over 1,000 samples Abby was able to conclude that over 74% of the samples collected were contaminated by microplastic. Microplastics are the one of the biggest pollution issues, and what is scary is that we can not even see them. There is not a way for us to measure exactly how much plastic there is in the ocean, but we do know that in certain parts of the north pacific there is more weight in trash in the ocean, than there is in weight of life. The problem with the trash being so small is because it is too dense to sink, so it floats on the top of the ocean. When these pieces of plastic are floating on the ocean top they are able to sustain plant life due to it being exposed to sunlight, water, and oxygen. When plant life forms on the plastic, birds will see the specs and eat them assuming they are safe to eat when in reality they are killing themselves. Birds, nor any other animal, can digest plastic. So depending on the size, shape, or pokeyness of the plastic the bird could die.  However, birds are not the only thing that eat stuff floating on the top of the ocean, so are the fish! So we are contaminating our own food chain because now our fish are becoming full of plastic. So since everything is so tiny, and we can not see it with our eyes to grab with our hands, we are basically out of luck. We can not get out all of the plastic that is in the water right now, it would simply be impossible. And as of right now, all of the garbage that is in the ocean pockets would take about 1,000 years to fully disintegrate. BUT, what we can do is prevent the future from looking like our present!

okay... so apparently I use a lot of plastic.

This is just the plastic that I came in contact with today, and it is not even 8 pm yet. :(

For starters, I ate a CBD gummy when I woke up, which comes in a plastic container that is for a one time use. I then watered my plants with a plastic bucket that I have used over 100 times, so this I am not upset with. Next I took a shower where there are 12 products including my toothpaste, which are also something you throw away when you're done. Then I had to get down some urine sample cups from my storage bin in my closet which... jeez.... so... much... plastic... Then after collecting urine samples from a few clients I had to wash my hands, and go figure my soap is contained by plastic. DISGUSTING. Next I washed some clothes, and my detergent was in plastic. I also got a new pair of fish nets yesterday that I am wearing today, and they came in plastic from the store. After that, I cleaned all of my son's plastic toys up, and grabbed my mask to head out the door. My coronavirus mask also contains plastic particles. At this point plastic is everywhere, imagine if you were allergic to it.